Manager: Cool it, Correa

Journey through the country of Spain, and you'll find many things: warm weather, beautiful women, and a glorious passion for football. An overlooked but integral part of Spanish culture, is the sport of bullfighting. The ultimate contest of man vs. beast, the torero, or matador uses various methods to subdue a large, furious bull. In many cases, the torero uses the bull's emotions against itself to win the contest and conquer the exhausted bull. However, in some cases, the bull gets the better of the torero, launching it into the air like a rag doll, goring it with its horns, and finally wounding or killing the person. Although bulls are colour blind, they do see 'red', in that they seeth with rage at prodding, the noise, and the torero. It is prudent for anyone to think it over deeply before stepping into the ring with 900lbs of ferocity.

The football field also holds many parallels with the sport of bullfighting. Temperamental players exist on the pitch, using their aggression to fuel their desire to win the ball, score the goal, and intimidate the opponent. Gattuso and Keane are such examples, known as 'bulldogs in the midfield'. However, temperamental players have one weakness: their aggression extrapolates outside the boundaries of a football pitch, and so they take opponent's antics with increased sensitivity. Opponents exploit this character flaw by cheating, whining, or simply beating the tenacious player in play. The ref using history, paints the aggressor as the antagonist, resulting in a stern warning to an outright dismissal. They say passion goes both ways: emotions can inspire a team, but letting your emotions control you can makes the squad worse off.

This was apparent in Tuesday's match, with Totaalvoetbal facing off against Santos. Santos were defending a one goal lead after an inspired freekick goal by forward Robbie Mitchell. Totaal were starting to apply pressure to tie the game, and the Santos defence was caught under heavy fire. In these times, experience and leadership are necessary to calm the storm and win the 3 points. However, Santos defender Benicio Correa, who picked up a yellow card earlier in the game for elbowing, was sent off by ref Justin Thyme in the 86th minute. Though there was exaggeration on the replay, the ref was steadfast, and Correa was headed to the showers amidst an atmosphere of tension and nervousness from the home crowd. It was only 4 minutes later when Van Diemen took advantage, scoring a header to level the score, and eventually the game. Santos still await their first win of the season. Correa was not available for comment after the match, presumably bitter over the dismissal.

Correa is a fierce tackler and has the towering physique to match. In season 1 of the RMI, Correa got the 2nd most bookings in Division 2, with 7 yellow cards. Season 5 was his 'golden' moment, getting the most yellow cards (8). Ironically, many of his team-mates say Correa is the nicest person one could meet. Known for his pranks and guilty pleasure in romantic comedies, one would think his occupation as an owner of a candy store, not a feared defender. Nevertheless, this recent game was the final straw for manager Sean7. Visibly angry, the manager lambasted the Santos defender.

'He let the entire team down tonight. In a time when we needed cool heads, we got a headless chicken with a machete for an arm running around irrationally.'
'I have spoken to him in the past about this, about playing aggressive, but clean football. Both he and I know that he has a stigma with the refs, that they're more willing to card him than anyone else on the pitch, because of his past.'
'But he has to learn and accept that fact, otherwise it will cost us more games. Totaal were piling pressure towards the end, and our defence was holding well until his challenge. His anger got the better of him, and like a bull, his emotions did him in.'

Correa will be suspended for the next match against Manchester United, and Santos are visibly thin in depth on the backline. However, manager Sean7 noted a bright spot for the match.

'Maicon, what a player. What a player. He was thrown into the fire in his first game, and came out shimmering. He's slotted in perfectly with the defence, knowing his duties, great on field awareness, cool leadership, excellent timing in his tackling. I'm pleased with Maicon's efforts, and he will definitely make our defence more formidable against opposition.'
'With Correa's suspension, we may need to call up some reserves, or the youth to team if anything might happen. But I think we'll be fine.'

It was only last week when the manager revealed that Benicio Correa would be the cornerstone of the defence, and the back four would be built around his strengths. Like the bull, Correa is admired for his strength and bravery, and he has reasonably matured into a capable defender. Developing passivity will be key in the transformation from bitter beast to a composed, classy legend.